School updates Page 3 Rabbi Yona Metzger and Councilman Halloran discuss Israel Page 6 Who’s in the kitchen and back to school Page 7 Kosher Bookworm reviews Rabbi Cooper Page 11
THE JEWISH
STAR
VOL 11, NO 35 ■ SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 / 20 ELUL 5772
WWW.THEJEWISHSTAR.COM
Keeping his kipa on his head and his eye on the ball By Malka Eisenberg The hollow sound of the ball hitting the DecoTurf at the United States Open Tennis Championships in Queens echoes loudly in the tense silence of the packed stadium as the players serve, volley and race after the ball. At the edge of the court, a seemingly staunch island of calm, stony faced, stands the ball person, but he is coiled and ready to run and grab an errant ball, hand a towel to a sweaty player, or toss another ball to be served. In spite of all the rushing, ball boy Donny Steinberg, 16, of Great Neck, a graduate of Yeshiva Har Torah and a senior at DRS High School, manages to keep his black suede kipa firmly on his head—he uses four bobbie pins. He also catches mincha at the kosher stand. “Being a Jew is not all that different or difficult,” he said. “Being a Jew is just being another person.” “Someone asked if magic keeps the kipa on my head,” he recounted. “I was gonna play with her and
At left, ball person Donny Steinberg with eyes attentively on the game. say ‘yeah, it’s magic,’” but he didn’t. Steinberg davens maariv once he gets home and keeps his tzitzis tucked in. He takes an earlier shift on Fridays, ending at four or five. “They’re really flexible, they’re very nice,” he said. Steinberg has been attending the U.S. Open with his father for
the last few years and when he noticed a ball person with a kipa, went with a friend to the tryouts last year in June. Steinberg didn’t make the cut then, but did this year. So many were trying out, he said, that he had to wait six hours “for 90 seconds to show if you can run on the court.” He said if you make the cut, there is a second tryout of 20
minutes, demonstrating throwing, running, and control of the ball. He noted that there are 300 ball persons (male and female) and that about twelve are Orthodox Jews. He said that it’s a “diverse, multicultural, very friendly atmosphere. As you walk to and from work you say ‘hi, what’s your name?’ You work as a team; there is a lot of communication. It’s like round robin, every shift there is a new group of six people. You get to meet a lot of people.” He explained that there are six ball persons at each match, two in the back, two in the front and two on either side of the net. He also noted that there are always six balls on the court; the player has one in his or her hand and one in a pocket, two with the ball person on the front right and two with the ball person in the back left. Steinberg is a “rookie” now and is paired with a veteran, someone who was a ball person before. Rookies are told when to hold an umbrella, for the sun, for the players, when to hand a towel, when to
talk to players. The ball person’s shift is broken up with two hours on court and an hour and a half off, alternating. Ball persons can be age 14 and up. He noted that most are in high school and college, although there are some in their 30s and 40s. “One is 64,” he said. There are different shifts; Steinberg’s is 12:30 pm to 7 or 8 pm. The job pays $8 an hour rain or shine over three weeks with four days off. Steinberg is taking off the Shabbatot and a day for school, starting this week. The two weeks of the “main draw,” the week before and after Labor Day, are when people “pay” to see the matches and it’s “exciting,” he explained. During the match, he stressed, “You have to pay attention to the player and sometimes ignore the ball coming at you. If the player is asking for a ball or towel, you focus on the player, and get the ball that’s coming at you later. You have to take care of the player’s needs, but there is limited interaction with the players. I’m always doing calContinued on page 4
Helping students score off the ice By Karen C. Green
Photo courtesy Dan KArp
Mathnasium’s Dan Karp scores goals on the ice is helping students achieve theirs in the classroom
They gained a reputation locally for scoring goals on the ice. Now, Dan and Michael Karp are helping fellow Five Towners score in a much different arena, and assisting them in reaching their goal. Dan, a 27 year old Woodmere native and hockey extraordinaire, who’s #4 jersey was retired by HAFTR (’03 HS), has recently opened Mathnasium in the Five Towns, a learning center specializing in tutoring math ,grades K – 12 including SAT and test preparation. Dan, together with his brother Michael, 23, who also is a hockey enthusiast and formerly with an executive recruiting firm specializing in IT placement, opened the learning center in March. Dan, who studied international business and nutrition, initially came on board with Mathnasium as
a consultant, focused on helping to reorganize international operations . Currently Dan wears two hats, as owner of the Cedarhurst Mathnasium center and as the international performance and franchise business consultant to 60 centers in the northeast and 12 countries. “Math is universal,” noted Dan who has traveled extensively on behalf of the company. “I’ve had meetings with centers in Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Columbia.” The two brothers who describe themselves as having completely different skill sets that complement each other, are excited to be working together, and in their community, and stress how the Mathnasium approach is different and apart from other tutoring centers. “ Opening in the Five Towns is an opportunity to work with my brother Michael, who is a math Continued on page 3
Shabbat Candlelighting: 6:59 p.m. Shabbat ends 7:58 p.m. 72 minute zman 8:28 p.m. Torah Reading Parshat Ki Tavo First night of Slichot Motzai Shabbat
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